Oven range appliances generally include a casing that defines a cooking chamber for baking or broiling food items therein, as well as a cooktop for cooking food items thereon. Such oven range appliances may be received with a set of kitchen cabinets such that one or both of a pair of opposing side panels of the casing are flush against, or in very close proximity to, the set of kitchen cabinets. When the cooking chamber and/or the cooktop are in use, the side panels of the casing typically become heated, and the heat may be transferred to the kitchen cabinets because of their proximity to one or both of the side panels. The transfer of the heat to the cabinets may, e.g., damage the cabinets or pose a safety hazard. Thus, a typical side panel has one or more recessed portions that are not flush to the cabinets.
However, the recessed portions may trap stagnant air between the side panel and the cabinets. Although the trapped air may somewhat reduce the transfer of heat to the kitchen cabinets, it is not an effective means of reducing the transfer of heat to the cabinets. Further, visible gaps between the oven range appliance and the kitchen cabinets usually are undesirable to consumers.
Accordingly, an oven range appliance with features for cooling one or both side panels of the oven range appliance without visible gaps between the oven range appliance and a set of kitchen cabinets would be beneficial. A side panel for an oven range appliance with features for cooling the side panel also would be useful.